Lose It App: Review of Week Two - A Stasis Week.

If you haven't read the week one review - I would check it out first as it gives my background to this weight loss journey as well as the basics of using the Lose It App. Just click HERE.

As anyone will tell you - weight loss/improving fitness is a frustrating journey.  You start off with a nice drop and then the body sort of rebels.  Week two was that way for me.  My weight went up a little bit and then back down, up and back down, rinse and repeat.  Even though I was under my caloric goals almost every day, even though I exercised every day - the scale ended up where I started at.

In the past this would have thrown me for a loop, but that little ADD quirk of mine is totally taken by the immediacy of goals and instant rewards of this APP. When I get up every morning, start the coffee and then step on the bathroom scale to record my weight. The App then gives me my caloric allowance for the day. It isn't long before I jump on my bike to ride for an hour out in the beautiful summer weather. Why? At the speed I ride I earn an extra 460 calories. That's a big difference in what I can eat and the kind of instant reward that keeps me going.

Turns out there is a side benefit - stress reduction. I am nearing my publisher's deadline to finish my rough draft and the stress can be debilitating some mornings.  An hour outside riding fast as I can with the wind in my face helps.  I feel better and lighter even though the numbers didn't change this week. I have no idea what I will replace this with when the weather changes as it's becoming an addiction.

There are a few things I want to share about this week and about eating in general -

1.  When you eat can make a difference.  You need to eat regularly throughout the day. Think of a fire that is being stoked.  You can't dump all the wood on it and walk away. It will go out. Fuel needs to be added at regular intervals to keep it burning steadily.


2. Exercise after eating can help.  I had a mild case of gestational diabetes two of my three pregnancies that was controlled completely through diet and exercise. Every meal had to be followed by 15 minutes of movement. It didn't have to be strenuous, it could just be a walk around the block, but moving after eating kicked my metabolism into gear to help my body use the nutrients. The same holds truly now.

3.  Be as accurate as possible.  Last week I mentioned being honest about serving sizes.  This week I realized I wasn't recording my exercise accurately.  The biking icon actually has a drop down menu to record the speed you're riding that changes the calories you get as a reward.  I was actually riding faster then I was recording. When I went back through and changed my log - it made a big difference. The walking icon also has this option.

4. Don't know your speed? You can register for a free account at Map My Ride and then mark the route you walk/ride. It will give you the distance in kilometers or miles.  Take the distance, divide by the number of minutes, then multiply by 60. Voila!

5. Don't forget to build some muscle. Muscle burns more calories, so building muscle is a great way to boost your metabolism.

6. My one major disappointment this week was Costco's Kirkland Signature brand fresh entrees and salads. Their bar code does not pull up the calories and serving size which is such an amazing feature of Lose It. Unfortunately this information is also not on the label. Shame!  All you can do is find something comparable in the search and pick the option with the most calories to be safe.

One reminder, Lose It isn't a diet in the regular sense.  It's about keeping track of calories in - calories out.  But there is more to health than numbers. Along the way, better food choices need to become a habit. Most healthier foods have less calories, so help you to maintain that daily goal. But you also want a healthy heart and body on the inside and that involves more than just the number of the scale.